TAIWAN January 04 2016 11:38 AM

TAIPEI (Scrap Register): Scrap prices into Taiwan have remained flat during early December. There remains little market for ISRI grade scrap in the country, with mills still taking a preference for imported billets and Japanese-origin scrap, as per the latest reports from The Steel Index.

Although October-December is usually the quarter for buoyant steel demand in Taiwan, domestic steel market conditions remained bleak as a result of competition from low-priced imports. 

The monthly average prices for Taiwanese imports of HMS #1&2 80:20 rose by $7 a ton to $147.25 a ton CFR Taiwanese port in November. 

Taiwanese mills are still uninterested in ISRI grade scrap, instead preferring to purchase material from Japanese suppliers. Moreover, as it is now in the winter months, scrap supplies from the US are expected to further decline with suppliers showing reluctance to take orders nearer the end of the month, instead focusing their efforts on rerolling billets and melting lower quality scrap, TSI noted.

The monthly average prices for North Asian HMS #1 scrap imports fell $15.95 a ton to $159.80 a ton CFR in October. This index is under development.